Our holdings are strongest for the 18th and19th centuries, though there are some collections that cover the medieval and early modern periods or the 20th century.
Newspaper databases are often a great starting point for those new to locating and using historical primary sources.
This link opens in a new windowNewspapers, pamphlets, and books gathered by the Reverend Charles Burney (1757-1817) representing the largest and most comprehensive collection of early English news media. For a combined search with other British newspapers, see British Newspapers Search.
Complete digital edition of The Times (London), searchable by keyword, with views of either an article or the complete page. Includes all articles as well as advertisements and illustrations/photos. For a combined search with other British newspapers, see British Newspapers Search.
Primary sources, including reports of world events, British explorers, business, crime, fashion, theatre and more, many with full page images and illustrations. For a combined search with other British newspapers, see British Newspapers Search.
Rare journals printed between 1685 and 1835 covering all aspects of eighteenth-century social, political and literary life including colonial life, provincial and rural affairs, the French and American revolutions, reviews of literature and fashion throughout Europe, political debates, and London coffee house gossip and discussion.
The Special Collections Librarian and I both call these sorts of databases hodgepodge collections for lack of a better term, as they are collections of materials that cover substantial time frames and a wide range of topics, plus contain a variety of source types.
Portal to a suite of collections sourced from The National Archives, Kew - the UK government's official archive covering the history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from the British state’s point of view. Includes: Apartheid South Africa, 1948-1980; Confidential Print: Africa, 1834-1966; Confidential Print: Latin America, 1833-1969; Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969; Confidential Print: North America, 1824-1961; Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980; Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980; Foreign Office Files for Japan, 1919-1952; Foreign Office Files for the Middle East, 1971-1981; Macmillan Cabinet Papers, 1957-1963; The Nixon Years, 1969-1974; Women in The National Archives.
Early English Books (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700.
Search the full-text of digital images for a wide range of books published from 1701-1800 in the fields of history, literature, religion, law, fine arts, science and more.
Global resources from the 15th century to the second half of the 20th century including exploration journals and logs, letter books and correspondence, periodicals, official government papers, missionary papers, travel writing, slave papers, memoirs, fiction, children’s adventure stories, traditional folk tales, exhibition catalogues and guides, maps, and marketing posters.
Nineteenth century primary source collection, including: Asia and the West: Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange; British Politics and Society; British Theatre, Music & Literature: High & Popular Culture; Children's Literature and Childhood; European Literature, 1790-1840: The Corvey Collection.
Primary and secondary source materials on the topics of slavery, abolition and social justice from 1490-2007. Includes including an interactive map, scholarly essays, tutorials, a visual sources gallery, chronology and bibliography.
Databases with a focus on any aspect of British culture or society.
Original British source material from a gendered perspective in history, literature, sociology, and education.
A unique archive of almost every play submitted for license between 1737 and 1824, and hundreds of documents that provide social context for the plays.
Primary sources documenting the changing representations and lived experiences of gender roles and relations from the nineteenth century to the present covering women's suffrage, the feminist movement, the men’s movement, employment, education, the body, the family, and government and politics.
Accounts of English travel abroad from 1550-1850, highlighting the influence of continental travel on British art, architecture, urban planning, literature and philosophy. Also covers daily life in the eighteenth century, including everyday issues as transportation, money, communications, food and drink, health and sex. The material also covers European political and religious life, British diplomacy; life at court, and social customs on the Continent, and is an invaluable resource for the study of Europe’s urban spaces.
An in-depth look at the evolution of British and American working class tourism from 1850 to 1980 covering a broad overview of the destinations unlocked for the average traveler throughout this period, along with specific case studies on pivotal geographical areas, organizations, subjects and travel agencies important for the history of tourism.
Resources and rare documents from 1554 to the 21st century for understanding the workings of the early book trade, the printing and publishing community, the establishment of legal requirements for copyright provisions and the history of bookbinding.
Contains color digital images of rare books, ephemera, maps and other materials relating to 18th, 19th, and early 20th century London.
Original manuscript and typescript papers created and collected by the Mass Observation organization, as well as printed publications, photographs and interactive features that study the everyday lives of ordinary people in Britain from 1937 until the mid-1950s.
The Paston, Stonor, Cely, Plumpton and Armburgh Papers from 15th century England which show medieval family, business, relationships, trade, politics and community.
Explores the dynamic period of social, political and cultural change between 1950 and 1975 through color images of manuscripts and rare printed material as well as photographs, ephemera, and memorabilia.
Collection of materials representing popular culture during the Victorian era. Includes: spiritualism & magic; circuses, sideshows & freaks; music halls, theatre, & popular entertainment; and moving pictures.
